1. There is no guarantee that the deal will be approved. ... The Comcast-Time Warner deal won't be approved until early next year -- if it gets approved -- which means the AT&T-DirecTV deal is looking at a winter/spring conclusion. In other words: The merger means zippo for the Pac12Nets getting on DTV's airwaves this fall. ...

2. There is no guarantee that DirecTV will carry the Pac-12 Networks the day/week/month/even year after AT&T takes control. ...

I asked an industry source what an AT&T-DirecTV deal would mean for the Pac12Nets and got this response: "Depends on the deal but (it) sure helps the chances."